


Buzzfeed Presents: Bellamy Blake, Bachelor No More

by dontwakeme_causeimdreaming



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Bellarke, Fake/Pretend Relationship, I PUCKING love a fake relationship, Jasper is me with all of my OTPs, Mutual Pining, bellarke AU, fake dating au, famous!Bellamy, hockey player!Bellamy, lowkey group chat au, lowkey texting au, mild swearing, oblivious idiots, oblivious!Bellamy, oblivious!Clarke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 02:00:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16714393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontwakeme_causeimdreaming/pseuds/dontwakeme_causeimdreaming
Summary: When Clarke sees the famous Olympic Gold medalist, and her childhood friend, Bellamy Blake for the first time in months at Octavia's engagement party, she realizes immediately that the crush she's harbored for him since high school has not disappeared. Then, when fans keep hounding him for dates, she does the only reasonable thing she can think of. She pretends to be his girlfriend. Only, they don't stop pretending.





	Buzzfeed Presents: Bellamy Blake, Bachelor No More

**Author's Note:**

> *Disclaimer: I do not own the 100*  
> *Disclaimer: these are fake Buzzfeed articles. I do not write for Buzzfeed*
> 
> I just finished this at 2:30 am, and my editing skills are beyond poor so I'm sorry for any mistakes/the poor quality. Thanks for reading xoxo

If Clarke were being honest, she was already bordering on tipsy when she left her apartment. In her defense, her mother had called her as she was getting ready for the evening; and, recently Clarke had started playing a drinking game whenever her mother called: take a shot every time she mentions that she’s afraid Clarke will never get married.

 

It’s not like she never dated. She went on dates frequently, actually. In fact, just last week she had suffered through a date with a woman who spent the evening staring at Clarke’s chest whenever she spoke. So, really, Clarke’s singleness wasn’t from a lack of trying. She just preferred to think that a relationship would come around eventually. Relationships are like cats, she thought; they elude you for a long time, and then bam! Right when you least expect it, they’re there meowing in your face.

 

Her mother’s persistence, however, had become worse since her friends started getting engaged. Wells had been first, having proposed to his college sweetheart directly after graduation. By now, his wife was pregnant with their first child. After Abby Griffin heard the news from Thelonious, she tried to set up Clarke on a date with one of her Fellows, who had hardly let Clarke get a word in edgewise all evening. When Clarke informed him that she’s an art teacher, he promptly responded, “Don’t worry, there’s still time for you to go back to school and get a real job”. Needless to say, Clarke went home alone that night.

 

Then, when Clarke’s ex-girlfriend Lexa posted engagement photos to Facebook, Abby naturally commented on them even though Clarke had long since been unfriended. Abby not so subtly hinted that it would be nice to have a son-in-law (“or daughter or whoever-in-law! As long as it’s someone, Clarke”). Clarke then proceeded to ignore her mother’s phone calls for a week in fear that Abby would try and set her up on another disastrous date.

 

So when Clarke accidentally let slip on the phone tonight that she was heading to Octavia’s engagement party, Abby released a long sigh and began explaining, as a concerned doctor of course, that Clarke would be dried up by the time she finally found someone willing to marry her. As the conversation progressed, Clarke naturally began drinking earlier than she had intended.

 

That was why Clarke Griffin sat slightly tipsy on a stool at Grounders, the bar where Octavia and Lincoln had met. So far, just Clarke and Lincoln’s college roommate had arrived, and the latter of which was currently immersed in conversation with the happy couple. Clarke signaled to the bar tender for another round just as someone placed a hand on her bicep to steady her swaying form.

 

Clarke looked up with surprise, and her gaze met a familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes. Bellamy. As if breaking from their cocoons for the first time, butterflies began to wildly flutter around her stomach. Octavia hadn’t mentioned that he was coming, or even that he was back in town. Of course, it makes sense that he would attend. Why wouldn’t he? His little sister just got engaged. She was stupid to think he’d be anywhere but present.

 

Clarke stood to embrace him in greeting, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk. “Had a little too much to drink, have you, Princess?” he joked.

 

She swung her arm to playfully smack his shoulder, but with her impaired coordination she grossly over-rotated her body and stumbled. Bellamy reached out to place a hand on her hip for balance, and heat radiated from his touch. A moment after she regained her footing, Clarke looked down to where his hand remained on her hip. When he followed her gaze, he pulled his hand away as quickly as if he’d been burned. Clarke tried not to appear too outwardly disappointed.

 

“It’s nice to see the godly Bellamy Blake hanging out amongst all us mere mortals again.” Clarke said with a smile.

 

Bellamy rolled his eyes and scoffed. “I’m **not** god-like.”

 

“Relax, Dummy. I’m joking. Though I must admit I enjoy informing everyone I meet that I personally know **the** Bellamy Blake.”

 

“Aaah, there’s the Clarke Griffin I know. Always so humble,” Bellamy quipped before immediately ducking to avoid the napkin thrown at his head.

 

+++

 

Clarke and Bellamy sat with their friends in a corner booth, and Bellamy’s arm was casually slung behind Clarke on the back of the booth. She had to consciously steady her breathing; it had been too long since she was in such a close proximity to him, which she was constantly reminded of by her body’s reaction.

 

When Jasper excused himself to grab another round from the bar, a woman slid into his vacated seat.

 

“You’re Bellamy Blake,” she gushed.

 

“In the flesh,” he replied with a shrug.

 

“Let me buy you a drink. Please! Or better yet, let me take you out for drinks,” the woman begged.

 

Clarke felt Bellamy stiffen beside her, and she caught his deer-in-headlights expression in her periphery. So, she did what any rational person trying to help out a friend in a sticky situation would do. She lied.

 

Clarke leaned into Bellamy’s side and placed her head on his shoulder. As if on instinct, his arm slid from the back of the booth and wound around her, absently playing with her curls. She looked at the woman, and then boasted, “Bellamy has all the drink dates he could want. He can give you an autograph, though.”

 

The woman’s cheeks reddened, and she mumbled an apology as Bellamy scribbled his name on a napkin. She accepted the napkin before hurrying away with her head ducked.

 

Bellamy craned his neck to lock eyes with Clarke. “Thanks,” he began. “I never know how to react in those situations.”

 

Clarke rolled her eyes, then mocked, “Aw boo hoo! I’m so pretty and talented and famous that random people always hit on me. My life is **so** hard.”

 

He tugged lightly on one of her curls, and put on an affronted expression. “Is that anyway to talk to your fake boyfriend?” He gasped.

 

Raven looked on with a raised eyebrow, but she made no comment and instead opted to sip her Long Island Iced Tea. Jasper returned with their drinks, and the four launched into a new conversation about the upcoming elections as though nothing had just transpired. Raven noticed Bellamy’s arm was still slung around Clarke’s shoulder, so she took another sip of her tea.

 

+++

 

The next morning, Clarke woke up and groaned. Her head felt like someone was jackhammering her brain, and her mouth tasted as though a small animal had crawled into it during the night and died. She rolled over, then immediately ran to the bathroom. Her day was off to a wonderful start already.

 

After multiple brushings of her teeth and a cold shower, Clarke began to feel like a normal human being again. She sat on the edge of her bed in her towel and scrolled on her phone. Then, a new message from a random number appeared across the top banner on her screen.

 

 **555-0176 to Clarke Griffin** : Clarke, it’s Bellamy

 

 **555-0176 to Clarke Griffin:** Octavia gave me your number

 

 **555-0176 to Clarke Griffin:** Meet me for brunch at Luna’s in an hour?

 

 ***Clarke Griffin added 555-0176 as Bellamy Blake** *

 

 **Clarke Griffin to Bellamy Blake:** Sure, see you there

 

She threw her phone facedown on the mattress, then immediately stood and flung her closet doors open in search of something to wear.

 

+++

 

Clarke arrived early and waited in the red vinyl booth with her cheek pressed against the cool plastic tabletop. With her eyes closed, the jackhammering didn’t seem so loud.

 

Bellamy alerted her of his presence with a laugh. “You look about as bad as I feel,” he announced.

 

She reluctantly pulled her cheek from the table and lifted her head. Just then, their waitress came over to introduce herself and they both ordered black coffees and the breakfast platter. (“Nothing cures a hangover better than an assortment of greasy foods, Clarke. Your mom’s a doctor, so you should know that,” Bellamy had reasoned.)

 

As Clarke sipped her bitter coffee, she looked expectantly at Bellamy. His cheeks were flushed slightly, and he rubbed the nape of his neck sheepishly. “Have you seen Buzzfeed yet today?” he finally asked.

 

She shot his a quizzical expression and shook her head no. It's not exactly her first instinct to check Buzzfeed in the morning.

 

In lieu of a response, Bellamy unlocked his phone and forced it into Clarke’s palm. She looked down at the photo on the screen and her mouth formed a small o as she read.

 

“Bellamy Blake: Bachelor No More

 

Sorry Ladies, but the dreamy Olympic gold medalist Bellamy Blake is officially off the market. He was spotted in Arkadia at a pub last night snuggling up with his girlfriend (pictured below).

 

An inside source who claims to know the couple firsthand shared that they’ve been friends since high school, back when Blake was just captain of his school’s ice hockey team and not yet a household name. Our source informed us, ‘It’s been a long time coming for these two, honestly. It’s been a will-they-won’t-they situation for years now, so I can’t say I’m surprised.’

 

If you’re in need of a new celeb crush now that our favorite hat trick scorer has scored himself a girlfriend, look no further. To find an eligible Olympian to crush on, click the following link: http://www.buzzfeed.com/decorate-your-dream-home-and-well-tell-you-which-olympic-gold-medalist-you-should-date.”

 

Once she’d finished reading, she handed Bellamy back his phone. Her heart had skipped a beat at being called Bellamy’s girlfriend, and she had to force her cheeks not to blush. “Now that the alcohol-induced haze has been lifted from my brain, there were probably easier ways to ward off unwanted attention than fake a relationship” Clarke sighed.

 

Bellamy laughed, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry about it Clarke. It was actually kind of fun” he responded.

 

“So we’ll wait a week or so, and then have your publicist announce that we broke up?”

 

“Or… wecouldnotbreakup?” Bellamy rushed out in one breath. Clarke looked at him with one eyebrow raised, and he forced himself to speak slower. “Or we could not break up? I just mean that it may be good for my publicity to have a girlfriend for a while, and you would save me from having to bring the boring dates my publicist finds for me to events for the team”

 

Clarke thought it over. On the one hand, this would help get her mother off of her back. If Abby thought Clarke were in a relationship, then maybe she wouldn’t constantly call to discuss Clarke’s fate as a spinster. But on the other hand, a fake relationship with Bellamy would definitely make it harder for Clarke to extinguish the small torch she’s carried for him since high school. But on the other (other) hand, Clarke would get to spend more time with Bellamy, who she had dearly missed since he started traveling for work.

 

Against all of her better judgment, Clarke agreed.

 

The pair spent the rest of their meal talking nonstop, learning everything an actual couple would know about each other.

 

They left breakfast with a quick embrace and a promise to see each other later in the week.

 

+++

 

***Clarke Griffin added Bellamy Blake to _the Delinquents_ ***

**Clarke Griffin to _the Delinquents_ : **btw I just added Bellamy

 

 **Clarke Griffin to _the Delinquents_ : **…k so we know you all saw the Buzzfeed article

 

 **Jasper Jordan to _the Delinquents_** : whatever do you mean, Mrs. Blake?

***Jasper Jordan changed Clarke Griffin’s contact to Mrs. Blake***

***Jasper Jordan changed Bellamy Blake’s contact to Mr. Blake***

**Monty Green to _the Delinquents_** : ok but is anyone going to explain this or nah???

 

 **Mr. Blake to _the Delinquents_ :** Clarke and I pretended to be dating last night

 

 **Mr. Blake to _the Delinquents_ :** you know, to deter unwanted romantic attention

 

 **Mr. Blake to _the Delinquents_ :** but now we’re just gonna keep doing it  
  


**Mrs. Blake to _the Delinquents_ :** for date purposes to events and whatnot

 

 **Octavia Blake to _the Delinquents_ :** ok just gonna toss this out there…

 

 **Octavia Blake to _the Delinquents_ :** You know that’s ACTUAL dating, right?

 

 **Mrs. Blake to _the Delinquents_ :** no but we’re not sleeping together

 

 **Mrs. Blake to _the Delinquents_ :** so we’re dating as FRIENDS

 

 **Raven Reyes to _the Delinquents_ :** honestly let’s just let this one play out on its own

 

 **Raven Reyes to _the Delinquents_ :** it’ll definitely be entertaining to say the least

 

 ***Mrs. Blake removed Raven Reyes from _the Delinquents_** *

 

+++

 

When Abby read the news online, she had immediately called Clarke. She seemed a little affronted at first that Clarke had conveniently forgotten to mention her famous boyfriend, but was appeased when Clarke agreed she and Bellamy would attend dinner that weekend. After all, that was the main reason why she had agreed to date Bellamy, wasn’t it?

 

So on the night of her dreaded dinner, Clarke sat with curlers in her hair as she scrolled through her phone. She and Bellamy have been texting often since their breakfast, if only to maintain appearances that they’re a couple. She smiled as his name appeared on her phone.

 

 **Bellamy Blake to Clarke Griffin** : hope your mom doesn’t remember that time in high school I broke her window teaching you how to play street hockey

 

 **Clarke Griffin to Bellamy Blake** : just lyk she 100% does

 

 **Bellamy Blake to Clarke Griffin** : fuck

 

 **Bellamy Blake to Clarke Griffin** : at least I still have my good looks to charm her with ;)

 

 **Clarke Griffin to Bellamy Blake** : she also remembers what you look like with a faux hawk

 

 **Clarke Griffin to Bellamy Blake** : so don’t rely too much on your looks, Buddy

 

 **Bellamy Blake to Clarke Griffin** : FUCK

 

 **Bellamy Blake to Clarke Griffin** : also omw

 

Clarke threw her phone facedown onto her mattress with disregard for where it bounced, and she hurriedly removed the curlers from her hair. She haphazardly brushed her fingers through the curls, and then set them with spray once she decided they were as tame as they were going to be. Just as soon as she’d zipped up her knee high boots, a knock sounded at her front door.

 

Clarke flung the door open without bothering to check the peephole, and there stood Bellamy Blake sporting a pressed powder blue dress shirt with a striped tie. While his outfit gave him a sophisticated appearance, his unruly curls made him look boyish. She had to resist the urge to comb her fingers through his curls.

 

As Clarke finished her appraisal, she noticed Bellamy staring at her with a similar appreciative look. The tips of his ears tinged pink at being caught staring, which caused Clarke to smirk triumphantly.

 

He offered his arm, and they walked as a linked unit toward his car.

 

+++

 

Abby flew out of the house before Bellamy even had time to kill the ignition. She flung Clarke’s door open, and pulled the younger girl into a tight hug. When she finally released her daughter, her eyes met Bellamy’s. He stood a respectable distance away holding a dozen roses and a bottle of red wine. He extended his arms and offered the gifts to Abby, and just like that the broken window incident was forgotten.

 

Abby linked her arm through Bellamy’s and began to walk back toward the door of Clarke’s childhood home. Clarke was left trailing behind, smirking at her mother, who was clearly already besotted.

 

Inside, Clarke’s stepfather Marcus stood in front of the stove wearing the “Mr. Good Looking is Cooking” apron she had bought him for Father’s Day the year prior. He was in the process of stir-frying rice, but he placed the wok on the back burner as he moved to greet Clarke. He wrapped her in a tight hug and pressed a kiss to her forehead, and then he turned to look sternly at Bellamy.

 

“You’d better not hurt my little girl,” he threatened.

 

Abby put a consoling hand on Marcus’s shoulder. “Don’t you scare him away now, Marcus. She’s finally seeing someone and I won’t have you be the reason it doesn’t work out,” she chided.

 

Bellamy looked at Clarke with one eyebrow raised, but she purposely avoided eye contact and busied herself setting the table. He looked away from Clarke, and instead directed his next sentence at Abby. “Don’t worry, Dr. Griffin. It would take a lot more than a few threats to scare me away from your daughter.” Clarke smiled to herself as she put the plates down.

 

Abby let out a gratified laughed, and then urged, “Please, Bellamy, call me Abby.”

 

Marcus gestured toward the table Clarke had finished setting, and he distributed glasses of Mai Tais from the pitcher on the counter. Bellamy pulled out Clarke’s chair for her, and he wrapped his arm loosely around her shoulder after he sat down.

 

“So, you two haven’t told us why you started dating after all of this time,” Abby prompted.

 

Bellamy and Clarke exchanged a look from the corner of their eyes. Of all the things they had discussed at Luna's restaurant that past weekend, their backstory, regrettably, hadn’t been one. Before Clarke could panic too long, Bellamy ran a hand through his hair and began improvising.

 

“Well, I’ve liked Clarke forever now,” he began, and Clarke fought her instincts to gape at him, managing to avoid giving him a quizzical look. He rubbed the back of his neck, and continued. “I had wanted to ask her to prom in high school. In fact,” he said with a laugh, “I practiced asking her with Octavia every day for a month. Finn asked her first, though. Then, I started dating Gina, and it wasn’t the right time for us until recently. But Clarke has always kinda been the one that got away, ya know? The one where I would always think about what could’ve been had I asked her to prom first.”

 

“And here you are now,” Abby finished for him.

 

“Here we are now,” he echoed as he turned his head and leaned over to kiss Clarke’s temple.

 

When his lips left her skin, she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

 

+++

 

The next Friday, Clarke found herself at Raven’s apartment after what seemed like a particularly long workweek. The pair sat on Raven’s couch with an empty bottle of red wine between them and _Hell’s Kitchen_ on the TV.

 

On the commercial break, Raven pivoted on the couch, and tucked her feet underneath her. She looked expectantly at Clarke.

 

Clarke cocked an eyebrow. “Yes…?” she ventured.

 

Raven sighed dramatically. “Are we _really_ not gonna talk about the elephant in the room?” Clarke looked around the room, as if searching for a literal elephant. She turned back toward Raven and shrugged. Raven’s sigh this time was impossibly longer. “Hardy ha ha, very funny, Clarke. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

 

This time, Clarke sighed. Then, she relented, “Ok fine.” She instantaneously regretted her decision upon seeing Raven’s smug expression, but continued anyway. “I know you guys all think it’s weird. But seriously, the way my mother treats me… it’s like I’m a fucking Bennet sister! She keeps talking about how I’ll never be fulfilled in life unless I get married soon. This was the only way to shut her up,” Clarke insisted.

 

Raven considered this, and then rolled her eyes. “So you decided to lie to her, and pretend to date the guy everyone knows you’ve had the hots for since we were teenagers? What exactly is your plan, Clarke? Fake date Bell forever? Fake marry him? As soon as the two of you ‘break up’ she’s going to start hounding you again. At what point are you going to stop this ruse?”

 

Clarke blinked in surprise. Raven’s face then softened, and she reached over to grab Clarke’s hand. “It’s just, I don’t want you to get your heart broken,” she lamented.

 

Clarke was saved from responding when Gordon Ramsay reappeared on the screen and called one of his chefs an idiot sandwich. As she sat back on the couch and thought about what Raven had said, her phone lit up with Bellamy’s name.

 

 **Bellamy Blake to Clarke Griffin** : I know you’re having a girls’ night

 

 **Bellamy Blake to Clarke Griffin** : but I went to the supermarket and they were having a sale on Ben and Jerry’s so I bought your favorite

 

 **Bellamy Blake to Clarke Griffin** : come over tomorrow for ice cream and a movie?

 

“Speak of the devil,” Raven muttered before excusing herself from the living room to fetch some more wine.

 

Clarke stared at her phone with a barely suppressed smile. Maybe Raven’s right, and this plan is bound to end with no one hurt besides herself. But that seemed like a problem for a more-sober Clarke. She pushed thoughts of the future out of her mind, and sent Bellamy a response.

 

 **Clarke Griffin to Bellamy Blake** : I’ll bring the booze xoxo

 

+++

 

Clarke sat on Bellamy’s sectional with her hair tied in a messy bun on top of her head and her feet in his lap. She and Bellamy were each armed with a metal spoon, and they passed the pint of ice cream back and forth.

 

Bellamy sat with his legs extended and resting on the coffee table in front of him, and the pair shared a knit blanket Octavia had brought back from when she studied abroad in Ireland.

 

 _The Hunger Games_ was playing on Bellamy’s television, and they watched the screen intently with no acknowledgement of the other except to steal the pint. Bellamy reached across Clarke’s legs to try and swipe the ice cream, but Clarke swatted his hand away and made a show of dramatically eating her spoonful. He pinched her side playfully.

 

Once the movie ended, Clarke stretched and snuggled further into the sectional. She pulled the blanket up closer to her chin, and exposed Bellamy’s legs in the process. He scooted closer to her so that the throw would cover him too. His fingers absently drummed a beat on her calves beneath the blanket.

 

Clarke’s head rested on a throw pillow, and her face relaxed. She looked more peaceful than Bellamy had seen her in years. Bellamy knows that normally, whenever she’s awake, she is checking things off her mental list, always preparing herself for the next task to accomplish. Now, as she reclined on his sectional, she looked younger and more tranquil.

 

“Your fingers are like ice,” she muttered, voice partially muffled by the blanket, without opening her eyes.

 

Bellamy’s fingers stopped drumming. He lifted his hand from beneath the blanket, and then he pressed the back of his hand against her nose. Her eyes flung open, and she immediately tried to escape from his frigid touch.

 

A burst of laughter escaped from Bellamy’s chest, and he retracted his hand as Clarke tried to situate herself comfortably again on the sectional. She shot him an affronted glare before resuming her previous position, head back and eyes closed.

 

As Bellamy continued to chuckle to himself, his front door flew open. Octavia marched into the apartment, muttering to herself as she stripped off her hat and gloves.

 

“Are you aware that it’s fucking snowing? There’s literal ice falling from the sky right now! I mean I feel bad for the polar bears, don’t get me wrong, but I kinda hoped for warmer winters with all this Global Warming hype,” she announced as she tossed her coat over the back of the sectional and fell backwards onto it.

 

“Are you aware that there’s a thing called knocking?” Bellamy groaned at the same time Clarke began, “I’m not even going to touch that Global Warming comment.”

 

It seemed that for the first time Octavia noticed the position Clarke and Bellamy were lying in. She grinned like the Cheshire Cat, and scooted closer on the sectional.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your date,” she goaded.

 

The pair exchanged exasperated expressions before Clarke insisted, “Hate to disappoint you, O, but we’re still **not** dating.”

 

Octavia scoffed, and then responded, “You can’t seriously expect me to believe you two aren’t together, can you? You’re cuddling on the couch, for fuck’s sake!”

 

“We’re not cuddling,” Bellamy mumbled, and Clarke noticed he subtly shifted his body away from her own.

 

Octavia narrowed her eyes with skepticism and pursed her lips. She stared unrelenting at Bellamy, and he knew better than to hope she was done arguing.

 

“Ok, you realize just because it you say enough times, that doesn’t make it true, right?” she pointed out. Bellamy ignored her, and raised the volume on the television to drown out his sister.

 

Octavia remained silent for another minute, and Clarke felt Bellamy relax again next to her. She slowly opened one eye, and frowned immediately. Octavia sat with her nose in her phone, and she was typing furiously.

 

 **Octavia Blake to _the Delinquents_** : I just walked into Bellamy’s apartment and he and Clarke are CUDDLING

 

 **Mr. Blake to _the Delinquents_** : I think you mean you BROKE INTO my apartment

 

 **Raven Reyes to _the Delinquents_** : is your mom there, Clarke? Are your teammates there, Bellamy? Or your publicist?

 

 **Mrs. Blake to _the Delinquents_** : no, it’s just me, Bell, and O. Why?

 

 **Raven Reyes to _the Delinquents_** : well, I was under the impression they were the only reason you two idiots kept up this false pretense

 

 **Raven Reyes to the Delinquents** : aren’t they?????

 

***Mr. Blake removed Raven Reyes from _the Delinquents_ ***

 

 ***Jasper Jordan added Raven Reyes to _the Delinquents_** *

 

 **Jasper Jordan to _the Delinquents_** : Monty you owe me $20

 

***Monty Green removed Jasper Jordan from _the Delinquents_ ***

+++

 

The following week seemed to never end. Clarke worked Monday through Friday for normal school hours, but then she had to attend parent teacher conferences every evening. She would leave her house at 6:30 in the morning, and she wouldn’t return until after 8:00 every night. Her diet for the week consisted of microwaveable Ramen noodles she could heat up whenever she had a spare minute.

 

So when Bellamy called her on Friday night begging her to be his date to a publicity dinner for the men’s Olympic Team, she _almost_ said no. She was curled up on the couch wearing pajamas and a charcoal face mask, and she was finally able to crack open _The Handmaid’s Tale_ , which she had bought weeks ago but hadn’t found the time to begin yet.

 

Plus, things with Bellamy seemed like they were becoming too serious. Clarke knew how she felt about him, and it was becoming too painful spending this much time acting like a couple, all the while knowing he doesn’t feel the same way.

 

Honestly, no wonder she’s been exhausted lately. Her fake relationship has been mentally taxing, and her job physically taxing. But Bellamy… she couldn’t ever say no to him, especially when he enticed her with the first homemade meal she would have in a week.

 

She relented, and agreed to attend the banquet as his date. But, she decided that after tonight, she would have to start spending less time with Bellamy. Maybe she could focus on having an actual relationship instead. After all, for the past few years while he’d been training, Clarke had scarcely seen Bellamy more than once a year. It shouldn’t be too difficult for her to go back to that pattern, even if these last few weeks with him had been some of the best of her adulthood. Yes, she’d be fine, she decided. This was for the best.

 

Tonight would be the last night. She may as well enjoy it.

 

+++

 

When a knock sounded on her door only an hour later, Clarke quickly set her hair with spray and then gave herself an appraising once over in the mirror. She wore a floor length teal slip dress with silver heels, and a silver necklace with a star pendant accentuated her neckline.

 

Clarke opened the door, and there stood Bellamy in a fitted black tuxedo. It was tailored with precision and well fitted. And his God damn tie… she wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull him toward her by the tie, to crash her lips into his and muss up the hair he had clearly tried to gel into place.

 

She banished those thoughts from her mind. Even if he’s not her actual boyfriend, and after tonight won’t even be hers for pretend, he’s still her friend. And friends do not think of friends like that, she reminded herself.

 

Bellamy’s gaze slowly trailed up her form. When they locked eyes, Clarke smirked. His freckled cheeks blushed pink, and he swallowed loudly. She grabbed her wool overcoat, and then extended her hand to him. They walked with interlocked fingers toward his car.

 

+++

 

Their car ride to the banquet had been quiet, and their dinner was no better. Bellamy pushed his food around his plate, but hardly ate more than a few bites. He shook his head as if physically forcing thoughts from his mind.

 

Bellamy’s teammate Miller sat beside them during dinner, and he at least provided Clarke with better company than Bellamy.

 

“Blake, is this the girlfriend you always brag about?” Miller inquired.

 

“Yeah,” he grumbled.

 

Clarke shot him a sideways look, but continued to exchange pleasantries with Miller.

 

After dinner, many of his teammates began dancing, but Bellamy brushed off Clarke’s requests to dance with him. He sighed loudly, and clasped his left wrist in his right hand behind his head.

 

“Is something wrong? Did I do something?” Clarke asked as she wrung her sweaty hands.

 

“No,” he muttered.

 

Clarke raised an eyebrow. He sighed. “It’s just your being here is all. I shouldn’t have asked you to come,” he relented.

 

She clenched her jaw, and narrowed her eyes. In a dangerously low voice, she growled through gritted teeth, “You wish you didn’t invite me? I wish I didn’t even fucking come. I’ve had the week from Hell, and I wanted to read my book and go to bed early. But I didn’t, because you practically begged me to come. I gave up my relaxing night _for you_ , you ungrateful bastard.”

 

She stalked off the dance by herself, and Bellamy pressed his fingers into his temple as he walked toward the bar to order himself a drink.

 

Miller joined Clarke on the dance floor, and they danced to cheesy line dances like the Cha Cha Slide together. Clarke allowed herself to have fun, and almost forgot about how Bellamy had been treating her tonight.

 

When there was a lapse between songs, she and Miller excused themselves from the dance floor to drink some water. Miller pointed his thumb over his shoulder to gesture questioningly towards Bellamy, who sat by himself at their dinner table with a frown on his face and his phone in his hand.

 

Clarke shrugged, and though she was still angry, she didn’t hesitate to follow Miller when he began walking in Bellamy’s direction.

 

He lifted his eyes from the phone as the pair approached him, but his face lacked its usual playfulness. His expression was sour, and his lips were tight. “Oh, you’ve remembered you have a boyfriend, have you? Done dancing with other guys, are you?” he sneered at Clarke.

 

“Fuck off, Bellamy,” she snapped.

 

Miller blinked in surprise between the two of them. He pulled his phone from his pocket, and stared intently at it, as if willing it to ring. After a moment, he put the phone to his ear and excused himself to take “the very important call.”

 

Clarke stared expectantly down at Bellamy. “What the fuck is your problem tonight?” she demanded.

 

“My problem?” he said incredulously.

 

“Yes, Genius, _your_ problem. You’ve been brooding ever since we left my apartment and I wanna know why,” she retorted.

 

He locked eyes with her for a moment, waiting to see if she would back down and leave him to sulk in peace. She stared back with a challenging expression.

 

“I just…” he mumbled. She raised both eyebrows, and stared at him expectantly and urging him to continue. He rubbed the back of his neck, then resumed, “I just… I think we should break up.”

 

“Oh,” Clarke managed to reply. Though she had been thinking the same thing just a few short hours ago, and though their relationship had been fake from the get-go, it still hurt to hear Bellamy voice this aloud.

 

He saw her hurt expression, and elaborated, “It’s just hard to go to all these places with you as your boyfriend when I’m **not**.”

 

Clarke felt as though she had been slapped. In a small voice, she whispered, “Of course. I mean, why wouldn’t it be difficult to pretend to date me? That’s what my mom is always saying, anyway. That’s why I’m single.”

 

Bellamy’s face softened, and he reached toward her to grab her hand, but she flinched and pulled away. “Clarke, that wasn’t what I meant…” he began. “It’s difficult for me to pretend to date you because… well, because I don’t want it to be pretend,” he finished in one breath.

 

She stared back at him, her mouth slightly agape, not daring to believe what he was saying. He misinterpreted her silence, and hurriedly continued to explain himself. “I mean, I feel so shitty for even telling you this. I know we had agreed to do this as a ruse or whatever-the-fuck reason we decided to do this. But, it hasn’t been fake for me for some time now. And seeing how beautiful you look tonight, knowing that everyone would be admiring you, and that soon maybe one of those admirers would _actually_ get to be with you, well, I just snapped, Clarke. And I’m sorry.”

 

Clarke took a hesitant step forward, then sat down in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. She looked imploringly into his eyes, then told him, “I don’t want any admirers, Bell. I only want you.”

 

A smile unconsciously lit up his face, far different than his usual smirk. He looked more boyish, more carefree, and Clarke decided it was a look she could get used to seeing. He reached forward, and brushed a curl behind her ear. She tilted her face closer to his, their lips almost touching.

 

Bellamy’s eyes were dark as he drank her in. He gently ran his thumb along her cheekbone, and whispered in a husky voice, “I’ve wanted to kiss you so fucking badly all night.”

 

“Then do it,” she commanded.

 

He closed the distance between them.

 

+++

 

 **Mrs. Blake to _the Delinquents_** : <http://www.buzzfeed.com/Bellamy-Blake-and-his-girlfriend-get-caught-in-a-heavy-kiss-but-what-happened-next>

 

 **Octavia Blake to _the Delinquents_** : omfg

 

 **Octavia Blake to _the Delinquents_** : is this real

 

 **Mr. Blake to _the Delinquents_** : yes

 

 **Monty Green to _the Delinquents_ : **have you not been dating this entire time??

 

 **Mrs. Blake to _the Delinquents_** : wtf Monty no

 

 **Monty Green to _the Delinquents_** : wow could’ve fooled me but ok congrats

**Raven Reyes to _the Delinquents_** : about damn time you two idiots came to your senses

 

 **Raven Reyes to _the Delinquents_** : but congrats I’m happy for you xoxo

 

 **Jasper Jordan to _the Delinquents_** : aaaaah yes my OTP coming true

 

 **Jasper Jordan to _the Delinquents_** : I want to be the best man at the wedding

 

 **Jasper Jordan to _the Delinquents_** : my best man speech will be “I saw this coming from seven miles away. That is all”

 

 ***Mr. Blake removed Jasper Jordan from _the Delinquents_** *


End file.
